And the paint jobs? They'd be fun to look at on someone else's bike. Likewise the lugwork and welded on names. (But they both suggest there are some builders/paInters without enough work to keep them busy.)

Dale, I agree - it's jumped the shark a bit. On one hand its great to see a vibrant handbuilt culture but on the other - where are most of these guys/gals going to be in 5 years? There is a finite group of people that will buy all that stuff and it seems to be getting to the point that they may have purchased it all at least twice. Interesting absences this year, too (Dave Kirk, I think?)

The clever, clever land social dynamic is interesting, too. It seems like a handful get way into turning the event into a sorority social. The circle jerk about going on over at Velocipede Salon is almost as glowing as the one about handmade 700x28 tires

The show would be pretty neat for a few hours but I would soon tire of hand hammered fenders and Richard Sachs

i'm sure there are some one percenters that buy those bikes just to say they've got one. all the builder needs is to sell a few bikes of that kind per year as advertisement and that keeps them building bread and butter frames for a year. i think it's great how creative and talented people can be even if it is on something as utilitarian as a bicycle. i'm not saying it's high art but it's along the lines of lady gaga with her pork chop dress or whatever. love me some pork chops or at least i did before going vegetarian.

This has been my question over the last couple of years about NAHBS. Between the transportation costs, exhibit fees. travel to and from the show, hotels, etc. I can't imagine that many of these guys are getting a positive return on the show.
I hope I am wrong, but I kinda doubt it.

Keith, that's why my next custom (if I ever do it again - I feel pretty well set for life now) will be with either of the guys who have built me bikes in the past, Dave Levy with 20+ years experience and Peter Mooney with a few more. Peter should retire in a few years, but he has made a name for himself of building reliable frames. I suspect any good framebuilder would be honored to do a repair or modification on one of his frames. And I would trust Dave to repair any of my frames.